Posted: 04.01.2024
Ritsuka Saeki
Flashblack to 2022. I just moved 700 miles to a new state.
Waiting for me when I arrive is this kit: Sousai Shojo Teien (SST) Ritsuka Saeki (dreaming style version).
Ritsuka was a kit I had my eye for quite a while and was gifted to me by a dear friend.
2 years later, I'm ready to finally give her a bit of a makeover and let her shine.
Ritsuka, built and unpainted, as she's existed all this time. She's a great looking doll, even without any customization.
These legs/socks have always been pretty meh looking, though. Doesn't help that my sanding game was weak when I built it.
I like her original hair color but wanted to something a bit more fun and 'out there'.
That dinky backpack needs some help.
Now that you've seen what we're working with, let's get started!
After disassembling and washing all the parts, primer goes down.
Clean underwear!
They were boring brown. This is so much cuter. I did not take any photos of these once finished and assembled; Ritsuka is a shy girl.
The hair dye experience begins! Starting with some varying shades of pinks, I just started sprayin and prayin.
A few more shades of pinks and purples.
So far so good!
I re-sanded her legs and after cleanup and primer, painted those twigs a nice dark brown.
Legs appear almost black, but when compared to her actually black shoes, you can see the slight difference.
And that’s all I got for work-in-progress stuffs.
A finished Ritsuka awaits:
The shoes were painted by hand. Glossy tops, matte bottoms.
Buckles aren't the cleanest but I dig the brown leather look.
I think the texture of her backpack came out great!
Hair! Check out that movement!
Subtle gradients!
Using a mix of matte and gloss clear coats, I gave her some slick shine in some key areas. Her bow was painted a leathery brown.
Some bang shine just like your favorite anime girlies. I painted her little neck tie to match her hair bow and backpack.
Not kidding, there's like 6 different shades of pinks and purples in there.
The darker segments make for some nice flow.
Very happy with how the lighter pinks blend out of her roots.
Displeased but still willing to say hello.
I call this pose: The Crossing Guard.
Ritsuka loves her new chair! You're welcome, small plastic woman.
Ok, she's had enough with this photoshoot.
Thankfully this one didn't demand too much time from me.
Out of the box, Ritsuka is a great figure that didn't really require extra work. But I like being extra, so here we are.
I'm pretty pleased with the final results. After spending far too much time trying to figure out how to paint hair, I feel it turned out quite decent! The new and improved Ritsuka is now proudly on display, waiting for some St. Iris Gakuen classmates for companionship.
Kotobukiya's SST line is a ton of fun and rife with extra part options for customization. As much as I want to pick up more of these girls, I think I'm going to put my money towards more 30MS at this time. The scale (and price) of the SST line is a bit much for me.
I did preorder Emma Koishikawa and her accessory set, however... I am not immune to artist types and snail buns.